We carried out a review of the data available to us about Ellens Court Care Home on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Ellens Court Care Home, you can give feedback on this service.
Ellens Court Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care for eight people with a learning disability. People could also have additional needs including mental health needs or an acquired brain injury. The service can support up to nine people. It is also registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes. However, it was not providing this service at the time of the inspection.
The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.
People’s experience of using this service
Staff knew people well and communicated in a way that made people feel safe. The staff team continued to understand how to recognise and report potential abuse to safeguard people.
People received their medicines when they needed them. Medicines continued to be managed safely. People were supported to access health care professionals to be able to maintain their physical and mental well-being. Meals were sociable occasions and people and staff sat together to discuss their day.
Staff continued to receive the training they required to be able to support people living at the service. Staff felt well supported by the management team.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. There continued to be a balance between keeping people safe from harm and maintaining their independence.
Staffing levels ensured people led active lives and could follow their interests. People also had opportunities to spend time relaxing in their rooms or chatting to staff. People continued to be involved in all aspects of home life. This included cooking, furnishing their rooms and how they spent their time. People benefited from being supported by a staff team who understood their needs and preferences.
Systems to monitor and improve the quality of the service had been further developed. Their views and those of their relatives were sought about how the service could improve.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 17 March 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Ellens Court is registered to provide accommodation with nursing or personal care for up to 9 people. There were eight people living at the home on the day of our inspection.
Ellens Court supported people who had a learning disability, sometimes as a result of an acquired brain injury. Most of the people living at Ellens Court had lived at the home for a number of years. People had varying care and support needs, some requiring staff support for most of their needs and others who needed relatively minimal support.
Ellens Court is situated in the countryside in between Sittingbourne and Maidstone. The home has a mini bus to help people to get to the places they need to go and staff also used their own cars to drive people. The home had a lovely garden and three and a half acres of land surrounding the property. The property was homely but required updating. The registered provider had taken over the management of the home in November 2015 and planned refurbishments to enhance the facilities for people.
There was a registered manager based at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The provider and registered manager had processes in place to safeguard people from experiencing forms of abuse. Staff had been trained in safeguarding people and understood their responsibilities in keeping people safe. They were confident that they could raise any matters of concern with the registered manager and these would be acted on. Staff knew they could go outside of their organisation and raise concerns with the local authority safeguarding team if necessary.
There were sufficient staff with a mix of skills on duty to support people with their needs. Staff had received the training they required to be able to support the people living in the home, although some refresher training was necessary. Staff were supported by the registered manager and felt able to raise any concerns they had or to make suggestions to improve the service for people.
The provider and registered manager had robust recruitment practices in place. Applicants went through an assessment process to make sure they were suitable for their job role. All staff received induction training at the start of their employment and had to pass a probationary period to show they were suitable for the role.
Medicines were managed safely. The processes in place ensured that the administration and handling of medicines was suitable for the people who lived in the home.
People were encouraged and supported to be as independent as possible. They were involved in all aspects of the home, from planning and cooking meals to choosing how they furnished and decorated their bedroom or what activities and interests they wanted to take part in.
People were fully involved in the assessment and planning of their care and support, deciding how they wanted staff to support them. Their relatives were also involved where appropriate and if people wanted this. Individual risks were identified when planning people’s care and control measures put in place to manage risks, keeping people safe from harm without compromising their independence.
People had choice and control over food planning, shopping for food and the preparation of meals. Where people had specific nutritional support needs, these were assessed and managed well. People were supported to access health care professionals to be able to maintain their physical and mental well-being.
The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. The provider and staff understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
The home had a friendly atmosphere where people were comfortable and confident in their environment. Staff were happy in their work and were chatty and relaxed.
People had individual plans to support their engagement in activities both inside and outside of the home. People regularly accessed the local communities, involved in regular interests. People pursued activities within the home if this was their preference, making choices day to day.
People knew how to complain and were given information how to do this and who to should they need to. No complaints had been recorded, however the registered manager believed the processes were in place to respond appropriately when a complaint was made.
Staff were well supported, through one to one supervision meetings as well as staff meetings. Communication was good and people, relatives and staff spoke highly of the registered manager and their management of the service.
Effective systems to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided were in the early stages of development. We saw that some audits and checking had been undertaken throughout the year. The registered manager and provider had started to assess and monitor the quality of care to ensure standards were met and maintained.